Guide

Tic tac toe on a big board

On a 3×3 grid, tic tac toe always ends in a draw. On a big board, with five in a row to win, it becomes a real strategy game.

Tic tac toe on a 3×3 grid is solved: two careful players always draw. Make the board bigger and ask for five in a row, and you get gomoku.

Why five in a row

On a big board, three in a row is too easy to get and too easy to block. Five in a row needs a plan: you build lines, your opponent cuts them, and the game turns on double threats.

Which board to choose

Gomoku XXL has three: 10×10 for quick games, 15×15 for the classic gomoku board, 20×20 for long games where the fight moves across the board.

The same game you know

X and O, one move each, a line to complete. If you can play tic tac toe, you can play Gomoku XXL in thirty seconds.